


Mister Babadook

by cakelesspixels



Series: The Guardians [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-03-03 15:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2856428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakelesspixels/pseuds/cakelesspixels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten years after the events of the film, Sophie must deal with constant bullying at school. The emotion toll it takes on her makes her a perfect target for the Babadook. This story uses elements from the film The Babadook, but it's not necessary to have seen the film.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mean Girls

Sophie Bennett remembered. She was young when it happened, but somehow she remembered. Her brother made sure that she never doubted her memories for even a second; he wanted her to know everything had been real. She had vivid memories of brightly colored eggs and falling asleep in the safety of Bunnymund's arms. Her father had never been around much since the divorce. While he hadn't completely abandoned the family, she rarely had a chance to see him. Bunny had been a welcomed paternal influence in her life as short as her time with him was. It made her wish that her time with him could have been prolonged. Although she understood why he couldn't stay with her, it didn't make her want it any less.

"Hey, ugly!"

Sophie froze. She knew that voice all too well. Nevaeh Lewis had become the bane of Sophie's existence since fifth grade. She didn't know why the other girl had honed in on her, but she had been targeting Sophie for years now. Sophie kept walking. She hoped if she kept moving that Nevaeh would get bored and move on. It was an unrealistic hope, but she didn't know what else to do. She wanted to attempt to get away from her without angering Nevaeh too much. If she did, Nevaeh's torment would have increased tenfold.

"Hey! Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

 _Keep moving_ , Sophie told herself. Her plan was interrupted when Nevaeh grabbed hold of her backpack to jerk her back with force. Sophie nearly lost her balance. Her arms flailed around as she fought to stay on her feet. The move lacked grace, but she was still standing.

"Maybe this is why her dad left." Standing next to Nevaeh was her best friend - or perhaps crony was a better word - Alyssa Grace. "She doesn't even know how to listen."

"Maybe it's part of the disease she has." Nevaeh was fond of referencing some made up disease she'd diagnosed Sophie with. When the girls were in the sixth grade, Nevaeh started to attribute anything she didn't like about Sophie to this fake disease. She'd never even given it a name. Sophie assumed the lack of name was a reflection of Nevaeh's lack of creativity. "You start losing your hearing," she continued.

"Yeah!" Alyssa laughed. "It's what makes her so ugly, too."

Sophie kept quiet. She just wanted it to be over. She felt one of the girls grab her shoulder to shove her down. She didn't know who it was, but it didn't particularly matter. She fell to the concrete sidewalk below. Her knee scraped against the cold surface. Even though it stung, Sophie dared not make a sound. She didn't want to show that they'd succeeded in inflicting pain. Although she wouldn't fight back, she would still find ways to remain defiant. When she started getting to her feet again, she could see trickles of blood dripping from her knee. She was only grateful that the injury was minor.

Coming home from school had become one of the most dreaded parts of Sophie's day. While she didn't get much help from teachers at school, the school building still afforded her some source of protection that she lacked when walking home. The girls knew it was the best time to corner her for the attack. Nobody was there to step in and stop the torment from happening.

"You know, I'm surprised they let trash come to school," Alyssa said. "Isn't that a health hazard?"

If Sophie said anything in return, it would only make things worse. They took anything she said to turn it against her or to twist it into some new insult. Other times they would take it as a challenge and they'd start to get even more physical than they were before. Their insults were stale. They had a tendency to set themselves to repeat, as if coming up with daily insults was too taxing on them. But the words still hurt. They hurt far more than any of the bruises that might have followed.

"You mute now, too?"

She knew Nevaeh didn't really want her to talk. It was all part of the game. Taunt her into speaking and, the moment she did, it would justify the next attack in Nevaeh's twisted head. Sophie was a fast learner and Nevaeh had given her ample opportunities to learn how she worked.

"Is everything okay over there?"

Sophie looked up to see a middle aged woman watching them. Sophie realized the house that they stood in front of might have been hers. She had a small child on her hip as she watched the three girls standing on the sidewalk. The dubious look on her face told Sophie that she probably had some inkling of what was going on. Her approach was meant to put a stop to whatever was happening without being overly confrontational. it was a tactic Sophie appreciated. There was a chance Nevaeh and Alyssa wouldn't blame her for the fact they'd gotten caught.

"Yes, ma'am." Nevaeh turned on her nauseatingly fake smile. She knew how to turn it off and on whenever an adult came around. Unfortunately for her, it seemed as if the woman had seen enough that it wouldn't work this time around.

"I think maybe you and your little friend should get going." She readjusted the child on her hip. "I don't like you kids loitering in front of my yard."

Nevaeh and Alyssa exchanged a look before they started to move forward. They looked back at Sophie before it was clear they'd given up on their target for now. They went back to gossiping about whatever it was they talked about when they weren't tormenting someone else. Sophie did sometimes wonder what it was they did together. It was hard to imagine them doing anything that required any kind of human emotion other than hate.

"Are you okay, honey?" The woman asked. "Do you need help with your knee?"

Sophie had almost forgotten about her savior. She quickly shook her head. "No," she said. "But thank you."

Sophie immediately took off in the other direction. She didn't fear the woman. She had a feeling it was just a concerned mother who genuinely had her best interest at heart. The reason she'd fled was she was embarrassed. She didn't know how much the woman had seen. She might have witnessed them picking her apart as if she were nothing. What had she really thought about Sophie? All Sophie had done was stand there passively while they said and did whatever they wanted. She just needed to get out of there. She needed to get away from it.

As she continued to run home, she felt a slight fear well up inside of her that Nevaeh and Alyssa might follow her. She didn't care about the blood that was making its way down her leg. She could clean it when she got home. She didn't stop to look back to see if they had doubled back to follow her. All she wanted to do was get home. She felt relief when she caught sight of her house. She forced herself to run a little bit faster in order to hurry inside. It was unlikely that the other two girls would be after her, but she wouldn't feel safe until she was inside her home. It was her sanctuary.

The moment she stepped inside, she pulled the door shut and locked it. She checked the windows as well. She doubt they would actually attempt to come into her house, but she didn't want to learn she was wrong the hard way. She'd read enough news stories of the horrible things people did to each other. It was hard to say how far those two might go. She would rather give into her paranoid fears than be sorry she ignored her impulses. The house was dark. Her mother must have been at work, and Jamie was probably out with friends. He was spending more and more time away from home in recent months. His absence made the house feel empty, but that was the nature of change. Things couldn't stay the same forever even if she wished they could. In time, she would grow used to Jamie being out of the house and the childhood they spent together would feel like a completely different lifetime. That was how her mother described her own childhood. Sophie assumed it would be the same for them.

She bandaged up her knee in the bathroom, grateful it was the only battle scar of the day. It seemed like such a horrible thing to be grateful for, yet she knew it could be so much worse. With the wound tended to, Sophie headed to her room. Once she stepped inside, she tossed her book bag beside the door. She made her way over to her bed and flopped down onto it face first. With her head buried in her pillow, she let out a low, frustrated groan. Several seconds passed by before she finally turned her head away from her pillow. She studied her own room for a moment. One of the consistent themes in the room were the little rabbits that decorated most of her furniture. While Jamie had his bond with Jack Frost, it was the Easter Bunny that Sophie would always remember best. The walls were covered with movie posters and musicians she adored. It was the one place she could be completely alone and escape the outside world.

She looked to her bookshelf which was overflowing with books. She'd become quite the avid reader over the years. Her mother had begged her time and time again to go through her books to get rid of some of them if she was going to keep adding more to her collection. It would probably never happen. Sophie paused when she noticed an unfamiliar book. She pushed herself off of her bed to head over to investigate it. She was sure she'd recall what it was if she started reading it. The hardback book was covered in a striking red fabric. On the cover it read, _Mister Babadook_. Underneath it there was a black silhouette of a man with wild hair and an old fashioned top hat. It wasn't familiar to her. It was possible she had bought it or received it as a gift and simply forgot. She had so many that it was difficult to keep track of everything.

Curiously, she took it back to her bed with her. Curling up on top of the blankets, she flipped open the book to read. It was a children's book, but it had intrigued her. It could still be a fun read, she reasoned. And it wasn't as if her classmates would catch her with it. After opening it, she saw it was a pop up book. Everything was colored in black and gray. It was far more drab than she had anticipated, but the artwork was unlike anything she was used to seeing in children's books. She kind of liked it even if it was a bit eerie.

"If it's in a word, or it's in a look,you can't get rid of the Babadook," Sophie read. "If you're really a clever one and you know what it is to see, then you can make friends with a special one, a friend of you and me. His name is Mr. Babadook and this is his book.

"A rumbling sound then three sharp knocks - ba BA-ba DOOK! DOOK! DOOK! That's when you'll know that he's around. You'll see him if you look. This is what he wears on top. He's funny don't you think?"

She looked at the image of the Babadook. He had an unnerving grin that took up the majority of his face. His eyes were wide and stared up from the pages of the book at her. Sophie almost felt as if the illustration could actually see her. She tried to shake the feeling and continued to read. It was just a silly children's book after all.

"See him in your room at night and you won't sleep a wink..." She trailed off. The book was growing darker. A shiver rolled down her spine when she looked to the little bed in the book. Lying on top of it was a girl with long light colored hair like her own. She tried to ignore it. It was most likely a coincidence. It wasn't like she was the only fair headed girl in the world.

"'I'll soon take off my funny disguise,'" she continued. "Take heed of what you've read. And once you see what's underneath... You're going to wish you were dead."

Her heart stopped. She hadn't anticipated a children's book being the source of such discomfort and unease, but something was off. It wasn't just the words or dark illustration. There was something else looming over her as she read. She quickly put it aside. It had to be some kind of strange prank. The book had to be a joke; something that only mimicked children's books but was really for the enjoyment of older people. It was a little too much for kids. Or maybe it was a really old book. Older children's books could be incredibly dark in comparison to modern ones.  
She stared down at the book for a long time. Finally, she reached out to grab it. It was harmless. She wasn't going to let herself be scared of a stupid book. Heading back over to her bookshelf, she placed it on the top shelf to keep it out of the way. Maybe she'd appreciate it later. Right now, she needed to come down from the shock of it. She'd had too much of a rough day to really enjoy it. It didn't take long for her attention to be redirected elsewhere. When she remembered that the dog needed to be tended to, she hurried downstairs to let her outside. She would contend with _Mister Babadook_ later.

* * *

"Tell her we do not want to see her."

"North, she has to be here for a reason." Tooth moved closer to North who stood by the main fireplace in his workshop. Her faeries fluttered about beside her as they always did. Jack watched from a distance. Ever since they had defeated Pitch, the guardians had been careful to spend more time together whenever life permitted. The original four had become too complacent in their roles as guardians before Jack Frost joined their ranks. They'd allowed themselves to grow too distant with the children and each other, and they vowed to never let it happen again.

Pitch's attack had been a mixed blessing. For all the pain and destruction he caused, it had reminded the guardians what was really important, and it had served to bring them closer together. They were still busy with their jobs, but they still found ways to visit with one another. They had become more close knit than ever before.

Jack still wasn't all that familiar with beings outside of the guardians. He didn't spend too much time socializing with anyone aside from the children or his fellow guardians. It had never been an opportunity that presented itself to him. If he wasn't with the kids, he was a lot more interested in messing with Bunny or spending time in North's workshop.

"Who are we even talking about here?" Jack finally asked. He'd come into the conversation a little late. No one had referred to the woman by name yet in his presence, but they all seemed to know who the subject of the debate was about.

"Befana," Tooth said. "She's a very sweet woman who likes to give presents to children, like North. She could use a little dental work though."

North scoffed. "Sweet woman, my foot."

Tooth glanced at North, but paid no mind to him. "On January fifth, she travels all over Italy to leave toys and candy for good little children and lumps of coal for bad ones."

"Really?" Jack smirked and looked to North. "That sounds remarkably close to your M.O."

"Because she stole all her best ideas from me," he said. "And she makes visiting Italy a living hell every time I visit. Jealousy is an ugly thing."

"Jealousy?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, jealousy," he said. "How often do you hear people outside of Italy ever speak of La Befana?"

"Personally? Never." Jack didn't spend much time in Europe even though he didn't neglect the continent. Stateside, he'd never heard anyone speak about her. Despite being a guardian, Jack was learning there were plenty of people he didn't know about. There were far too many to keep track of if he was being honest. In a way, he felt a bit guilty about it. After so many years of people not believing in him, it felt as if he were something of a hypocrite knowing so little about others like him across the globe.

"And there you have it." North seemed satisfied he'd proven his case. "She wishes children celebrated her as much as me, but she is just a copycat. And now the moon rabbit is siding with-"

"Now don't go dragging Min into this," Bunnymund interrupted. "She's just helping out a friend."

Jack didn't recognized the name Min. He'd heard about the moon rabbit, but all he knew was she was some kind of maternal spirit that was connected to the moon. She'd only ever been 'the moon rabbit' to him.

"Befana just wants to talk with us," Tooth said. "You know she'd never come here without a reason."

Sandy nodded. The swirling sand above his head and hand movements worked in tandem to express his thoughts. Sandy pointed out that Befana disliked North as much as North disliked her. The only thing that would bring her to the North Pole was if something was wrong.

"Exactly," Tooth agreed. "It could be about the children. We should hear her out for their sake."

North sighed. The logic was difficult to argue with. His personal dislike of the woman would have to be pushed aside for the children. North was beginning to understand how Bunny felt when Jack was first brought on as a guardian. North thought Bunny was a bit lucky though; Jack had never been as self-righteous and obnoxious as Befana could be.

Finally, he nodded. He looked to his yetis. "Show her in."

Jack couldn't deny his curiosity. What kind of person could have gotten on North's bad side? North had always been so - for lack of a better word - jolly. Jack had never been privy to any private grudges that the Guardian of Wonder had. He'd never thought of North having any. Before Jack was a guardian, he knew he could get under North's skin, but it had never felt as though North genuinely disliked him. He just didn't trust him to not cause trouble and, if Jack was being honest, he had every right to be wary. Jack would never ruin Christmas for the children, but a little mischief wouldn't have done much harm.

Jack watched as the yetis escorted Befana in. They stood on either side of her and she kept her head held high. For a brief moment, it looked as if they were escorting royalty. Although Jack was sure she had been around for centuries, she looked as if she were only in her forties. Her dark skin and hair contrasted with North's fair complexion and white hair. She wore an old cloak that had been mended with colorful patches. Her dress was old fashioned and she had a brightly colored apron tied around her waist. She carried an old broom with her that looked like a witch's broom.

Only a few feet behind her was the moon rabbit that Jack had heard of before. She was a slender, bipedal rabbit; she was far more delicate looking and shorter than Bunnymund. Her white fur reminded Jack of freshly fallen snow. The moon rabbit could have easily camouflaged herself in the snow surrounding North's workshop.

"Befana." North was the first to greet her. He crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't going to pretend to be overjoyed by her visit. "What is it you want?"

"You're all here." Befana's Italian accent was slight. "Good. This concerns all of you."

"All of us?" Jack's curiosity turned to worry although he didn't allow it to show in his features.

"The children are in danger."

Those words alone were enough to place each of the guardians on alert. She had their undivided attention. Whenever the children were threatened, it became a number one priority. Any animosity between Befana and North was temporarily brushed aside.

"What has happened?" North asked. He turned to his globe as if it would give him answers. "It cannot be Pitch. We-"

"It's not," Befana interrupted. "But we are dealing with something that might be more sinister."

"More sinister?" Jack repeated. "How are you gonna get more sinister than Pitch?"

"Are you sure you are not exaggerating?" North asked.  
"Children are dead." The room fell silent. There were no words that could express the surprise and grief each guardian felt in that moment. Befana continued. "Min-young, tell them what you know."

The Korean moon rabbit stepped forward to explain further. "A child in Seoul died. The news said it was an accidental death, but his journal made a lot of references to something called a Babadook. He said it was stalking him. His parents thought it was just a child's fantasy or story so they paid no attention to it."

"A few months after his death, a little girl in La Spezia died," Befana said. "They said it was a suicide."

"How do you know they're connected?" Jack asked.

"She kept a diary, too," Befana said. "And she mentioned the Babadook. Whatever he is, we're afraid that the Babadook is the one killing these children somehow. We knew we had to come to you. I... I knew North's globe might be our only chance of finding whatever this thing is. If we could have handled this ourselves we would have, but we may not powerful enough for this... Babadook."

Befana spat out his name like it were a poison in her mouth. It was the first time Befana had ever admitted North's tactics were superior to her own. Unfortunately, the grim situation made it impossible for North to savor the moment. The children were more valuable than winning an age old grudge. There was no room for petty gloating.

North nodded. "We will find the Babadook," he promised. "And we will stop it."

* * *

"How was school today, Sophie?"

"Fine."

There was no point in telling her mother. Mrs. Bennett did sympathize with her daughter, but there was so little she could do. She'd tried talking to the girls' parents and the school with little results. Both the parents and school were in denial over the girls' behavior. Sophie's teachers had done everything but outright accuse her of lying. The most Sophie had gotten was a half-hearted apology that inspired even more torment the next day.

"What did you do today?"

"Nothing special." That wasn't a lie. School was relatively the same day in and day out. There was nothing remarkable to note. The bullying was all part of her usual schedule.

"Not even in English class?"

Sophie shook her head. English class had become her favorite. She would write fanciful stories that gained her lavish praise from her teacher. Mrs. Collins was the only teacher that seemed to be on her side at school. She had often expressed to Mrs. Bennett that her daughter was an exceptionally gifted writer. She had faith in her and she had been the one to show her how to turn her pain into words on a page. It hadn't been enough to erase all of her scars, but it was a start.

"We had a substitute," she said. "All we did was watch a movie."

While other kids embraced such days, Sophie would have much preferred reading or writing than watching some made for TV movie. She only forced herself to pay attention because the substitute told them they would be quizzed over the contents of the movie.  
"Is Jamie coming home for dinner?" Sophie asked.

"He said he was going to be eating at Pippa's." Emily placed a plate of pot roast and potatoes in front of her. "How about later tonight we have some hot cocoa? We can watch a movie or something."

"Sure." Sophie really didn't want to. Occasionally forcing herself to just join in and have fun did help elevate her mood. She hoped that it would work this time, too. Her upset stomach made it difficult to eat, but she managed. If she skipped dinner, she knew her mother would start to question her. She loved her mother, but there was nothing she could do to help. She had tried and Sophie had marked the attempt as a failure. She wouldn't torment her mother with the knowledge that she couldn't protect her child any longer.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Mrs. Bennett got to her feet to head into the living room. She came back in with a familiar book in her hands. "Is this yours?"

Sophie stared at it. Without even looking at the title, she knew which one it was. "Yeah," she said. Why did her mother have it? Had she gone in her room and noticed it? Why would she be going through her books Maybe she was getting impatient with her lack of organization and had tried to straighten out the bookcase for her. If that was the case, why was she questioning her about it?

"It was sitting on the coffee table when I got home," Emily said. "I didn't know if it was yours or Jamie's."

"The coffee table?"

But she'd put it back on the bookshelf. Had she moved it later on and forgot? She had no reason to so it didn't seem likely. Jamie hadn't been home and, even if he had been, he rarely went into her room. He certainly wouldn't have taken anything without permission. He always asked before he borrowed something. If it was his and he was taking it back, he would have mentioned it to her so she wouldn't have been looking for it or to ask how she ended up with it.

Her mother set the book on the chair beside Sophie. Distracted by its presence, Sophie had a difficult time focusing on the conversation. All she could think about was the book and how it had gotten downstairs without her moving it. Her mother went on about her day at work while Sophie only half-listened. She was slightly relieved when dinner was over. She knew her mother wanted to watch a movie, but it would require a lot less input from Sophie. She wouldn't have to respond to questions or commentary. Her mother preferred to watch movies without talking during them.  
When her mother was working on making the hot chocolate, Sophie grabbed the book from the chair. "Mom, I'll be right back."

She didn't like having the book in her house now. Something about it made her uncomfortable. If it was Jamie's she'd just deal with the consequences or try to buy him a new one. While her mother was still at the stove, Sophie headed out to the garbage can outside to throw the book away. She was overreacting. It was just a book. It couldn't hurt her no matter how uneasy it made her feel. She didn't like to throw books away, but for this one she'd make an exception for.

After she'd thrown it away, Sophie returned to the house to settle in to watch television with her mother. Her mother seemed to have some inkling that something was wrong with her daughter. Sophie could tell by how she spoke to her. It wasn't a condescending tone, but she could hear the concern in her voice. She even told her that she could pick the movie they watched. Sophie did keep her mother's tastes in mind when she settled on an old movie from the nineteen-forties. Sophie wasn't sure if she would like it, but the old comedy did wonders in helping her forget.

Much needed laughter filled the Bennett household.


	2. He Lives In Misery

It wasn't unusual for people of all ages to look forward to the weekend. For Sophie, it was her sanctuary. Two days of the week where she knew she wouldn't have to face Nevaeh or Alyssa. She could feel completely relaxed and safe. She promised herself that this weekend was going to be great.

Beth Yang was on her way over. She and Beth had been friends since kindergarten. The two girls had hit it off almost instantly and it was the perfect friendship. They had their stupid fights from time to time, but they would always make up in less than two hours after the initial argument. The two girls were inseparable. Her mother had even joked that Beth was her adopted daughter with how often she started to come around.

Beth wasn't wildly popular either, but things had been looking up for her since she'd joined band. It wasn't going to skyrocket her to popularity and it didn't need to. The friendships she would make were enough. Beth had introduced Sophie to a few of her new friends, but Sophie hadn't exactly become part of that circle of friends. That could change in time. Beth had encouraged her to join an extracurricular activity of her own to try reaching out to new people. It didn't seem like a bad idea. The real struggle was deciding where she thought she might fit in.

"Your friend is coming by, right, Soph?"

Sophie nodded. "Yeah," she said. "You heading off?"

Jamie had a few growth spurts since their run in with Jack Frost. The boy who had once barely come up to Jack's shoulders was now 5'8". He ruffled her hair as he walked by her to grab a soda from the refrigerator.

"Just for a few hours," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be by yourself."

"I'm not a little kid anymore. You don't need to worry about babysitting me."

"No, but I don't want you getting lonely." Jamie had the biggest heart of anyone Sophie knew. He knew about her troubles at school. She never told him that it was getting worse, but it was clear that he knew something was wrong.

"What about Caleb's party?"

"He'll have others."

"True," she said. "He has one every other week."

"Can't blame a guy for wanting to have a good time." Jamie grinned. "But it wouldn't be a big deal for me to skip just one."

Sophie shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "Beth's coming over so we'd just be ignoring you anyway."

"I am way too cool to ignore," he teased. "Well, if you're sure you're good, I'll leave you two to your own devices."

With his soda in hand, he said a quick farewell to Sophie. He was sure to say goodbye to Abby on his way out. Sophie didn't mind being alone for the few hours she had to wait for Beth. She'd come to appreciate having time to herself with no one else in the house. Her mother was working for the weekend and wouldn't be back until later that night. She would have to worry about making her own dinner which wasn't unusual.

Not wanting to put in too much effort into cooking lunch, Sophie settled on making a sandwich before settling down in front of the television. She had time to kill before Beth would finally join her. Abby slept by the door. She always preferred to stay beside doorways as if she was acting as a guard.

Completely immersed in the film she'd settled on, the knock at the door caught her off-guard. Jumping at the sound, she whipped her head around to look at the door. She glanced at the clock to see the time. It was only one o'clock. _Beth must be early,_ she thought. She headed to the door to stand on her tiptoes to look out the peephole. Abby was only a few feet away giving a low growl.

"It's okay, Abby," Sophie said. "It's just a visitor." When she looked through the peephole, she didn't see anyone. She furrowed her brow before opening the door to see if there were any leaflets stuck in the door handle. There was nothing. She shrugged and shut the door before looking down at Abby. "Looks like a ding-dong-ditch."

They'd never been the target of kids playing ding-dong-ditch, but there was a first time for everything. As annoying as it was, it was a harmless prank. It was one she never completely understood. It didn't seem difficult to trick people to come to their door after knocking on it. It didn't take any skill or wit to pull off.

After establishing that it was most likely a prank, she started back to the living room. She stopped dead in her tracks when there was another knock at the door. This time it was louder. The first heavy knock was followed by three more. Whoever it was must have been pounding their fist against the door.

"Sophie."

The sound of Jamie's voice was unexpected. He'd never been one to pound against the door so harshly. Maybe something was wrong. She hurried to the door to open it to look outside.

"Jamie?"

No one was there. Confused, she continued to look for any signs of her brother to no avail. She could hear Abby growling and barking behind her. She attempted to shush the dog, but Abby continued. After a few more seconds, Sophie shut the door.

"I could have sworn I heard him," she said. She looked to Abby. The aging greyhound's body was still tense. Sophie did her best to calm the greyhound down and, eventually, Abby started to let her guard down. It was hard to get back into the movie, but Sophie did try to take her mind off of what was most likely a prank. It wasn't Jamie's voice. It was probably some kid who sounded enough like him that her mind tricked her. Brains were notorious for playing tricks.

Abby curling up beside her on the couch was comforting. If anything else happened, Abby would be there to protect her. It was enough to feel a little more at ease. Sophie was relieved when the clock was getting closer to three. As punctual as ever, Beth arrived at the Bennett home only minutes before the clock struck three.

"Hey!" Beth was grinning as she stepped inside. Her pixie cut and oversized sweater were familiar sights. Sophie always saw her as the type of person who could pull of any look she wanted. She had to admit she was a bit jealous of that.

"Hey, Beth."

"Guess who finally remembered to bring the book you wanted to borrow?" She held it up for Sophie to see before handing it over.

"I almost forgot about that," Sophie said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Beth said. "I'm gonna raid your fridge, okay?" She didn't need to wait for permission. Beth was all too aware she was welcomed to take drinks from the kitchen whenever she wanted. As long as she was always careful to keep away from Jamie's beloved energy drinks. Those were off limits to everyone.

When Beth returned to the living room, the two girls settled into their usual routine. Sophie got out plenty of snacks for them while they gossiped over the show that was on TV. They would occasionally glance at the TV to talk about it, but most of the conversation lingered on school and mutual acquaintances. Time passed by too quickly as they joked and played around. Beth was the one to interrupt the goofing off.

"Okay, we gotta watch this." Beth had switched the channel over to some made-for-TV teen movie. It hadn't started yet, but a trailer for the movie was being played right before it started. It was already clear that the acting was cheesy and the comedy was over the top; it was the usual teen movie fare.

"I'm not really big on these," Sophie admitted.

"No, no, trust me, this one is hilarious," Beth said. "Intentionally, too. It's what you need right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Soph, you've been the biggest sad sack lately," she said. "You need some cheesy goodness in your life. Also there are musical numbers."

Sophie laughed before burying her face into the throw pillow on the couch to let out a dramatic groan. "Beth, you're killing me!" She did love musicals, but she couldn't let Beth win without a fight. She lowered the pillow to look at the TV.

"No, it's amazing so shut up."

"I already hate it."

"Shh." Beth reached out to put a hand on Sophie's face to silence her. "No words. Just watch. Look! Leocadio Batara is in it!"

"I don't even know who that is."

"Because you're the worst."

"I just don't obsess over Disney channel-rific actors."

"Sophie, seriously," Beth said. Despite the word 'seriously' there was nothing serious about her tone. "We are going to watch this beautifully crafted masterpiece put together by masters of the industry-"

Sophie laughed. "Masters of the industry?"

"I _said_ ," she said, pointedly. "We are going to watch this beautifully crafted masterpiece put together by masters of the industry and we're going to love it, and then we're gonna make cupcakes. This is your life now, Sophie. Accept it."

Sophie shook her head with a laugh. She'd lost the 'battle.' Settling in to watch the movie, she heard her phone vibrate on the coffee table before Leocadio Batara could even make his entrance. She reached for her phone to check it. Occasionally her mother would send a text about coming home early and asking about dinner plans. But when she looked down at her phone, she was surprised to see it was from Cupcake. It wasn't that the two didn't get along, but Cupcake was one of Jamie's friends. She rarely had a reason to contact Sophie outside of Jamie.

_I heard abt the site. U ok?_

"Who is it?" Beth asked.

"Cupcake," Sophie said. "Jamie's friend. She wanted to know if I was okay. She mentioned a website but I don't know what she's talking about."

Beth went quiet. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she turned her eyes down to the can of soda in her hand. Beth was terrible at hiding her feelings. Something was wrong.

Sophie frowned. "What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you about it before anyone said anything."

"About what?"

"But it never seemed like the right time."

"About _what_ , Beth?"

Without much explanation, Beth lead the way to the family computer. It was an old clunker of a computer since her mother couldn't afford to replace it. It still worked well enough that a new computer could be bumped down the list of necessities. Beth's fingers moved quickly across the keyboard to bring up the website in question.

Sophie's heart sank. On the screen was her school photo and her full name. Insults were plastered on every inch of the website. Each one more vulgar and disgusting than the last. There were threatening comments that Sophie could have never imagined being thrown her way.

"Sophie, I'm so sorry."

"You knew about this?" Sophie looked to Beth.

"I just found out this morning," she admitted. "But I was trying to figure out how to tell you, you know? I don't know how you tell your best friend about this kind of stuff. And, I guess, part of me just kind of hoped if we ignored it, it'd go away. People talked about it at band practice and everyone was saying whoever made it is just an asshole. No one except idiots or jerks would believe anything it says on here about you."

"But it's the idiots and jerks that can make your life miserable," Sophie said. "All it takes is for them to latch onto it."

"Yeah." Beth's voice was soft.

Sophie studied her friend a moment. "It's okay," she said. "I wouldn't know how to tell me either."

"We should tell someone. Maybe they can figure out who-"

"It was Nevaeh," Sophie said. "That part's obvious. She's the only person who'd want to do something like this."

Sophie turned back to the website to look it over. It was difficult to believe everything she was reading. Every slur or derogatory term that could be thrown her way was on there, including a few that didn't even make sense. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She tried to discreetly wipe her eye before Beth could see what she was doing. There were other photographs of herself. They were innocent but insidious context was added to them with text beneath the picture. There was an image of Sophie talking to Mike Williams, a boy from her class. She had no idea what they had even been talking about at the time or that there was even a picture of them together. The words underneath the picture painted their own version of what was going on. 'Sophie Bennett trying to slut her way to popularity' it read.

"It's so stupid," Beth said. "Mike Williams isn't even popular so that doesn't even make sense."

Sophie couldn't help but laugh at that. "I can always count on you to focus on the important things," she teased. Beth had meant well with her goofy joke and it had helped a little.

"Someone has to."

Looking back to the site, Sophie noticed something in one of the images. It was a darkened figure that was difficult to make out in the thumbnail. Clicking on it to enlarge, she was immediately greeted with the terrifying image of the man from the book standing behind her in the photo. He stared out at her with a pale white face and an impossibly large mouth with black lips; there was dark black around his eyes while his irises were ice blue, almost white.

Sophie felt her heart racing. She looked to Beth with wide eyes. "Why did they put that there?"

"Put what where?"

Sophie turned back to the website to point to the man in the image, but he was gone. It was nothing more than an image of Sophie standing in the hallway with braces on. There was no trace of the Babadook.

"Anyone who makes fun of you because you had braces for two years is an idiot." Beth misunderstood what Sophie meant. "They-"

"No, there was a weird looking man," Sophie said. "He was standing right behind me."

"I didn't see him."

"I swear I saw it, Beth!"

"Maybe I just missed it," Beth said. "It could be a gif or a rollover image."

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, it was probably something stupid like that," she said. "Or my eyes just playing tricks on me. My brain's probably just weird from everything."

The Babadook wasn't real. She only saw him because she was so stressed out and the book was a fresh memory. She would just brush it off as if it never happened. The rest of the website was more important to worry about. She wouldn't tell Beth about the Babadook. She was sure she'd just sound insane.

"Whatever it was, we should stop looking at this thing," Beth said.

"Yeah... I guess I'll talk to Jamie about it when he gets home," Sophie said. Jamie would know what to do. Jamie always knew what to do. He was her big brother; it was his job to know.

"Good idea," Beth said. "Until then... you wanna see if we can take your mind off it?"

Sophie nodded. She knew that would be near impossible, but she did want to try to distract herself. The girls went back to their previous activities even though it was clear Sophie's heart wasn't in it. The things said on the website and the face of the man weighed heavy on her mind. It was only a few hours later that Beth finally had to return home for dinner.

On her way out, Beth paused. "Oh, hey, someone left something on the doorstep," she said. She reached down to pick it up. When she lifted it up so Sophie could see, Sophie felt her heart thumping in her chest at the sight of the Babadook book. Unable to get anything coherent to come out of her mouth, she simply took the book from Beth. Staring at it with wide eyes, she said a halfhearted farewell to Beth. She shut the door behind her friend with her eyes still focused on the book in her hands.

She rushed to the dining room table to open it up. Sophie tried to rationalize what had happened. She flipped through the book again for any clues. The first few pages were the same until she noticed new ones had been added. Pages she hadn't seen before.

"I'll make a wager with you," she read. "I'll make you a bet. The more you deny, the stronger I get."

She turned the page to reveal an illustration of a fair-haired girl lying in bed screaming as the Babadook loomed over her. He shouted the words "Let me in!" with his mouth open so wide it could have devoured the girl in the bed.

She turned another page. The Babadook now towered over her. "You start to change when I get in," she continued to read. "The Babadook growing right under your skin. Oh, come! Come see what's underneath!"

She turned the page to see the fair-haired girl, who she knew had to be her, standing with a knife in hand. Without even pulling the tab to make the pop-up move, the knife sliced into her throat. Sophie was shivering as she slammed the book shut. She couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. She threw the book aside before making sure she locked the door. She immediately ran upstairs with Abby hot on her heels. She didn't stop the dog from curling up in bed with her as she sobbed. She wrapped an arm around her and hugged Abby tightly.

"Nevaeh," Sophie said. She turned to Abby as if the dog understood. Abby responded by tilting her head slightly. "I don't know anybody else that would even dream of doing something like this."

How had it ended up in her room before though? _Mom,_ Sophie though. _She probably brought mom the book and told her it was mine, or left it outside our house and mom brought it in. Mom would just put it anywhere she could fit it in my bookcase._ That's how it got there. It had to be.

* * *

The guardians looked down at the diaries laid out before them. Befana and Min had gathered them before coming to North's workshop. Stealing items from the rooms of children wasn't ideal, but this had been out of necessity. It was likely that they held the key to figuring out the true nature of the Babadook. The sight of the journals was far more emotional than any of the guardians had counted on. The very sight of the vibrantly colored notebooks conjured thoughts of a childhood lost. Untouched since their deaths, the dairies held the final written thoughts of Jun-seo and Anna Maria. With a heavy heart, North picked up the pink diary. Anna Maria's name was on the cover in a child's scrawl.

Bunny reached for the other journal and flipped it open. Bunny pressed his ears against his head as he looked it over. He may not have understood the Hangul inside the journal, but it was clearly the handwriting of a child. There were crudely drawn images on every page. He was partial to animals, Bunny noted. There was some kind of animal on every page. There were little dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and fish. Each one had what Bunny assumed to be animal sounds or onomatopoeia written next to them. The only one he recognized was the 깡총깡총. It was something he'd seen children in Korea write on images of rabbits before.

"This is where he first mentions the Babadook." Min reached out to point to one of the paragraphs in the journal. "It says that it started with a book he couldn't get rid of."

Min continued to translate for the group. Jun-seo's journal described the book that haunted him in great detail. "He says that things got worse," Min said. "He started seeing the Babadook everywhere he went. His friends didn't believe him. They thought he was playing a prank, and he thought something was wrong with him when no one else could see it."

"Poor little bugger," Bunny said.

"Both journals say a lot of the same things," Min said. She took the book from Bunny to search through it's pages. Toward the end of the journal entries was a page that only contained one sentence. "Including what they thought brought the Babadook to them."

"What do they say?" Jack asked.

"In Jun-seo's journal, he says that the Babadook eats sadness."

"'Il Babadook vive di miseria'," Befana said. "'The Babadook lives in misery.' That was how Anna Maria described it. Even before the Babadook came, the children described their lives as unhappy. They both seem to think that's why he came for them."

"It's targeting depressed children?" Tooth asked.

"We gotta get moving on this," Jack said. "If he's just going from kid to kid, he's probably already got his next victim."

Befana nodded and looked to North. "Can your globe tell us anything?"

North turned to the Globe of Belief at the center of his workshop. He squinted as he looked over every inch of it for any clues. The illuminating lights of believers shone brightly as they always did. It wasn't until he reached North America that he saw something alarming.

"Here," he said. "Something is wrong here." It was easy to miss, but there was darkness on the globe. It was a warning overlooked until now. "I cannot tell exactly, but he looks to be near Burgess."

"Burgess?" Jack stepped closer to the globe. "Are you sure?"

"Burgess or Punxsutawney," he answered. "Maybe both. The shadow is on both cities."

"Then we will go to both," Befana said.

North gave her a look. "Of course we are going to both," he said. "I was going to say we are going to both. Jack, you and I are going to Burgess. Bunny, you go to Punxsutawney. Tooth, Sandy, I need you to check your usual routes in case there is something we missed."

"What about us?" Befana asked. She motioned to herself and Min.

"You two can go home," North said.

"You can't expect us to sit on our hands," Befana said. "I am going to Burgess with you."

Now wasn't the time to fight. North shook his head in defeat. "Fine, you can come," he relented. "Min, go with Bunny. The groundhog will help you."

Bunny let out a incredulous scoff. "The groundhog?" He asked. "Seriously?"

"It's his home turf, cottontail," Jack said with a smirk. "You know how much he loves to help out-of-towners."

Bunny rolled his eyes. "North, you can't really expect us to work with him."

"Bunny, now is not the time," North said.

Had it not been such a dismal situation, Jack would have been able to truly enjoy Bunny's frustration. His dislike of the groundhog was known to everyone, except the groundhog. They were a duo to witness.

Bunny side. "Come on, Min. We should get going."

He tapped his foot against the ground to open one of his rabbit holes. He immediately jumped down to head to Punxsutawney; Min followed close behind. After they left, Tooth and Sandy went back to their regular routes to start their own search. North, however, headed off to his sleigh. Befana and Jack followed after him. Although Befana had her own method of transportation, she knew North's sleigh and snow globes would be speedier than her broom. It was just a fact she wouldn't say out loud.

"I just want to say right now, I am not happy about this," North said. "We are guardians. We can handle this on our own."

"And we don't need to be pushed aside like we don't matter."

Jack watched as Befana and North argued with one another. They had a little less pizazz than he and Bunny did when they fought, he had to admit. It was still interesting to see someone who got under North's skin like this. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

"No one does that." North shook his head.

"You do, all the time!"

Jack was the first one in the sleigh as he waited for Befana and North to board. He was a little surprised to see that, in spite of his dislike of Befana, North offered her a hand to help her aboard.

"Grazie." Befana was never one to disregard her manners. She accept North's hand in order to keep herself steady as she climbed into the sleigh. It was bizarre to watch them jump from arguing to polite gestures in a blink of an eye. "I'm surprised this thing has not fallen into disrepair yet."

That didn't last.

"Maybe your broom cannot be trusted," he shot back. "But my sleigh is made of sturdier stuff." He reached out to give the sleigh a loving pat.

"That must be the yetis doing," she said. "They're the ones with all the talent around here."

Her comment caught the attention of a nearby yeti. He made a noise that sounded grateful.

"You're welcome," she said.

"Mom, dad, all this fighting is breaking my heart," Jack teased. "Don't tell me you're getting a divorce."

Befana gave Jack a surprised look before smiling. North, however, came back with a joke of his own instantly. "Jack, my boy, no matter what happens, remember your mother and I will always love you."

Befana couldn't help but laugh at that. "You are both impossible."

* * *

"You know he drives me bonkers!"

"It's just for a short while," Min said. "And it's for the children."

"I don't know how he's gonna help us," Bunny said.

"You are impossible." Min absentmindedly reached out to clean off a bit of dirt from Bunny's face.

He didn't pull back, but he did cringe. "Min, you gotta stop mothering everyone you meet."

"I do not mother everyone!" Although she protested, she continued to clean up the fur around Bunny's face. He felt like a child being cared for by a parent. "Now I know you can be civil. So be civil."

Punxsutawney was renowned for its pride in Groundhog's Day. People came for miles around to the Punxsutawney Phil Souvenir Shop and Gobbler's Knob Trail; Punxsutawney Phil's burrow was a town landmark. Bunny had never seen a burrow that had a genuine street address before he'd met Phil. Located in Barclay Square, the burrow was attached to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. The two rabbits carefully crept up to the hidden door beside the public groundhog enclosure. It was an entrance that only Phil used regularly. Min gently knocked on the door. To the uninitiated eye, it looked like just another piece of the wall.

After a few seconds, the door opened. Punxsutawney Phil looked up at the two rabbits that towered over him. He was no taller than Sandy and he had a bit of girth around his stomach and bottom.

"Bunny!"

Bunny cringed at the sound of Phil practically shouting his name. The enthusiastic groundhog approached Bunny to take hold of his paw to give it a vigorous shake. "How've you been?"

"Fine."

"Min, it's good to see you again!" He turned his attention to the female rabbit to shake her hand. "Come on inside. I just made tea. Looks like I get to call it a party now!" He scurried back into his burrow. Min and Bunny exchanged looks before following him inside.

Phil glanced back to them once they came inside. "The place's changed since you've last been here."

"I guess that's to be expected," Bunny said. "I haven't really been here since seventy-four."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant, Min," he said. "She was just here last month."

"Last month?" Bunny looked to her. Min shrugged.

"But that reminds me that you need to come visit me more," Phil said. "You never come around enough! Whenever I try to get you to visit, it's all 'Sorry, mate, eggs this and eggs that.' Some people might call that an addiction."

When imitating Bunny, he tried his best to deepen his higher pitched voice and to imitate the Australian accent. It didn't come out all that flattering. Bunny let out an aggravated sigh.

"Phil, we-"

Bunny was interrupted by Phil jamming his elbow into his side. "I'm just joshing you! I know how important all that stuff is. Let me go get us that tea. We'll catch up!"

Underneath the burrow that the humans could see on a daily basis was Phil's real home. It wasn't anything fancy, but it gave him privacy from prying eyes. He started toward the little kitchenette area to get the tea for himself and his guests. Once he was out of the room, Bunny leaned over to Min with his eyes narrowed. ""You two have been paling around with each other?"

"We _are_ friends."

"I expect this kind of act of treason from Jack, but not you."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be dramatic."

Phil was making his way out of the kitchen with a little tray of drinks. "You know, Bunny, I was just thinking about you the other day."

"That's great," Bunny said. "But we're here because-"

"The Theater Arts Guild was putting on a performance of Les Miz," he explained. "It made me remember how much you like singing."

Min looked to Bunny. "You're a singer?"

Bunny shook his head. "I'm not the singing type, mate."

"Sure you are," Phil said. "Min, have you ever heard him sing?"

"I'm afraid I haven't."

"Voice of an angel."

"Alright, listen, this is all fine and dandy, but we're here on business, Phil," Bunny said. "A child is in danger."

The smile from Phil's face fell and he set aside the tea. "What's going on...?"

Min and Bunny began taking turns explaining the situation. Phil listened in rapt attention without uttering a word. It was one of the few moments that the groundhog was struck speechless. Like the rest of them, he took the children's safety seriously. When they had finished relaying the recent events, Phil gave a determined nod.

"We better not waste any time," he said. "You guys just follow me. If he's targeted one of the kids in this town, we're gonna find him."

Phil was the one that lead the way out of the burrow to start hitting the streets for any signs of the Babadook. Before following him out, Min turned to Bunny.

"How is it that Phil's heard you sing, but I haven't?"

"Because that little stickybeak is an expert eavesdropper."

Min just laughed before the two followed after Phil. Although Phil wasn't as fast as the two rabbits, he did keep a speedy pace. If that child was in Punxsutawney, they were going to find them.

* * *

**Translations**

깡총깡총: Kkang-chong-kkang-chong. This is the onomatopoeia for hopping.

Grazie: Thank you.

Stickybeak: This is Australian slang for a nosy or inquisitive person. You can also use it as a verb instead of pry or snoop.


	3. Help

News of the website spread through the school like a cancer. Sophie’s name was on the lips of every one in school that day. She caught several people trying to discreetly stare at her and a few who made no effort to hide their prying eyes. It was getting more difficult to not just snap at someone. Several choice names were thrown her way while kids recoiled from her as if she were a beast.

Beth was the only person who stayed by her side in spite of everything. Beth’s support kept Sophie from breaking down and sobbing in the middle of the hallway. She wanted to call her mother and beg her to take her home. She would have understood, Sophie knew. But she would have gone right to the principal to demand he do something which never ended well for Sophie.

The day went from bad to worse when Sophie was called to the guidance counselor’s office. Sophie was shaking as she made her way down the hallway to the door that read “Ms. Doran, School Counselor.” This was the last thing she needed. Sophie knew next to nothing about Ms. Doran. She had been brought in to replace Mrs. Nyeste. The last time she’d been called to the guidance counselor’s office, it was so Mrs. Nyeste could try to see Alyssa and Nevaeh’s side of the problem. Her solution was to have the girls apologize to Sophie while making sure Sophie apologized in return. Mrs. Nyeste believed that everyone needed to take blame in every argument, regardless of the circumstances. It was part of why nothing was ever accomplished under her watch. Alyssa and Nevaeh’s torment continued after the meeting with her. Any further discussions about it ended with Mrs. Nyeste asking Sophie what she was doing to rile them up and why she was always hanging around them.

Sophie had nothing to judge Ms. Doran on, but her trust was shaken. When she entered the office, she saw a young woman, probably in her late twenties or early thirties, sitting behind a desk. She was a frail looking woman with oversized glasses and black curly hair. When she looked up from her computer, she gave a sympathetic smile to Sophie. “You must be Sophie,” she said. “Please, take a seat.”

Sophie quickly made her way to the cushioned chair in front of Ms. Doran’s desk. The plain white walls were covered with motivational posters that plagued schools across America. Right behind Ms. Doran was a corkboard with several school announcements and work related print outs. She couldn’t help but notice the poster that hung beside the corkboard. ‘Whoo cares about you?’ It read with little owl faces smiling beside it. ‘Your school counselor, that’s whoo!’ It was so cheesy that Sophie couldn’t fight back a smile.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

Sophie nervously squirmed in her seat. She had a feeling she already knew what this would be about.

“I take it you already know about the website,” Ms. Doran correctly guessed.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I know this must be a very difficult time for you,” she said. “I was bullied in school when I was growing up myself. I know how rough it gets. But I’m here for you, okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

She hesitated, her eyebrows knitted together. “Sophie, do you know who made the website?”

“Does it matter?”

“What?”

“Does it matter?” Sophie repeated. “It’s not like anything happened the last time I talked to anyone about this kind of stuff.”

Ms. Doran frowned. “So they’ve done stuff like this before?”

Sophie didn’t really want to be short with Ms. Doran. She did seem to mean well, but Nevaeh and Alyssa’s behavior wasn’t a secret. She’d gone to the principal before only for it to be brushed aside like it never happened.

Ms. Doran seemed to take note of her stalling. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready,” she said. “But if we’re going to do something about this, I need you to trust me. What you tell me in here won’t leave this room until you’re ready.”

Sophie hesitated. “Alyssa Grace and Nevaeh Lewis. I know it was them. They’ve been harassing me since fifth grade.”

“That long?” Ms. Doran seemed to be even more distressed by that news. “Have they been targeting anyone else?”

Sophie shrugged. “They’re mean to a lot of people. My friend Beth for one.”

“Beth?”

“Beth Yang.” Sophie assumed she needed a last name. “I’ve seen them bothering Tommy Peebles and Beatriz Mendoza, too.”

Ms. Doran nodded. “Would you be upset if I contacted your friends about this?”

“Why?”

“Well, in order to take action, I have to build a case,” Ms. Doran said. “I feel like it would be much stronger if more people speak out.”

Sophie eyed her suspiciously. “Do whatever you want,” she said. She reached down to grab her backpack to leave. “Principal Fisher won’t do anything about it.”

“Sophie, wait.”

“Contact them,” Sophie said. “And then you can see for yourself that it won’t do any good. Thanks anyway though.”

Ms. Doran called out to her again, but Sophie continued on her way. Her reaction was rude. She was already starting to regret it. Ms. Doran did seem like she wanted to help, but that wasn’t enough and Sophie knew that. She would probably back down the second she met resistance, like most people did. Sophie wasn’t new to this. The last time someone was on her side, they just cowered when Principal Fisher stepped in. Maybe that was why Mrs. Nyeste didn’t do anything; she knew the higher ups would come down on her. Ms. Doran was just spinning her wheels.

She tried not to look at anyone. When she reached her locker, she noticed the graffiti first thing. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of insulting names written all over her locker. It was probably Alyssa. She was usually the one who took on the riskier tasks while Nevaeh just supervised. Sophie never understood how Alyssa never figured out that she was the fall guy. If anything were to go wrong, Nevaeh was ready to shove Alyssa, her supposed friend, under the bus to get away safely. If Alyssa hadn’t been such a nasty person herself, Sophie would have pitied her. Choosing to act as if the writing wasn’t even there, Sophie went about her business. She ignored the snickering of nearby classmates as they watched her, waiting for her to react.  

Sophie heard something above her head. It was a rasping voice that sounded more like a hiss; if it had said something, the words were impossible for Sophie to discern. Slowly, Sophie raised her head to look up at the source of the voice. When her eyes met sunken beady ones, she let out a scream and fell back onto the floor. Everyone around her was laughing, but she barely registered them. All she could do was focus on the Babadook staring down at her with a vicious grin. No one else was reacting. They were looking up, but no one was reacting. Was this part of the prank? But no one even seem to register that something was there. That was when Sophie realized no one else could see it.

Panicked, Sophie got to her feet and ran. She didn’t stop for anything. She ignored the teachers yelling at her as she raced home with tears streaming down her face. Tomorrow she would have to face detention, but she didn’t care. She had to get away from that thing. She continuously looked back to see if it was following her. She didn’t see him, but she refused to stop running. 

She didn’t even see the car. It wasn’t until she heard the squealing of its breaks that she realized it was there. She let out a scream and instinctively held out her arms as if she would have the strength to stop the 4,000 pounds of metal coming her way. Fortunately, it was able to stop before it could hit her. The irate driver climbed out of the car to start screaming obscenities at her. Rather than listen to his ranting, she continued running to get home with her heart racing faster than before. She slammed the door behind her and immediately fell to the floor in tears.

She was home alone again. It was something of a relief as she didn’t want to have to explain this to anyone. Not yet. It was several minutes before she finally pulled herself together, forcing herself to get up and wash her face. With the tears washed away, she was trying to calm herself. It was a tall order when she was being stalked by something no one else could see.

“I wish you were here, Bunny.” She said, softly. She briefly wondered if this was all related to Pitch, but wouldn’t the guardians be here if that was the case? She curled up on the sofa, trying not to break down into tears again. She flipped on the TV for noise. Sitting in a dark and silent house was almost too much to bear. There was nothing on but she had to think about something else. She internally struggled with the decision to just cave in and call Jamie and hope he didn’t think she was insane. If anyone would believe her, it would have been him. He still believed in Jack Frost, after all.

She decided against calling her brother; she hoped that she could calm herself. Although she wasn’t sure what could calm someone after an event like that. As if some cosmic force felt the need to make it worse, she could hear rain starting to hit the living room window. What began as light sprinkling turned into a heavy rain in an instant. Normally, it would have been soothing, but today it filled her with dread. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest when creaking filled the room. Frantically, she looked for the source of the noise. Her eyes finally rested on the closet door. It was slightly ajar.

She swallowed hard as the door continued to creak open. The doors in this house had a tendency to do that, she reminded herself. The reassurance it was nothing didn’t last long as inhumanly long fingers started to creep out of the closet. Sophie saw the pale, deathly face of the Babadook staring out from the darkness. His sickening grin was still firmly in place as he stared at her.

Sophie bolted for the door. As she opened it to run out, she slammed into someone. It took a second for her to realize it was her mother.

“Sophie!” Mrs. Bennett scolded. “What are you doing? You came running out like a mad woman.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“Well, no harm done,” she said. “Could you help me with the groceries though?”

Her mother headed toward the kitchen blissfully unaware of the horrible creature lurking in the house. Sophie looked back to the closet to see it was now empty. In a feeble attempt to shake off what had happened, Sophie followed her mother into the kitchen to help her with the groceries.

She had to talk to Jamie.

* * *

The married couple act was getting old. Jack had been listening to Befana and North go at it for hours now. Every house they searched lead to some kind of disagreement between the two. Befana obviously had a chip on her shoulder, but North wasn’t helping the situation.

“You are impossible!”

“The same could be said about you,” North said. “I told you that you did not need to come.”

“I care about these children as much as you do-”

“No one is arguing that,” North said. 

“Then you should understand why I will not stay home,” Befana said.

“What I do not understand is why you do not leave it to the professionals?”

“Ha!” Befana scoffed. “The others may be professional, maybe, but you? That is the worst joke you have ever told.”

Jack allowed himself to zone out of the argument between the two gift-givers. While Bunny had been frustrated by North’s popularity, it was a bit different with Befana. North often laughed off Bunny’s jealousy or simply teased him in response. Befana seemed to have a knack for getting under North’s skin. This was a feud that had been around for centuries and wasn’t about to end any time soon. He thought back on his arguments with Bunny over the years. Perhaps those had been equally frustrating to everyone around them.

Rather than break up the fight, Jack pressed forward. Befana and North would come around in their own time. He kept his attention focused on looking for any hints of the Babadook or the afflicted child. It was more difficult than any of them had bargained for. He went from rooftop to rooftop with no success. He was just about to turn back to fetch the older couple when he noticed a black shadow out of the corner of his eye.

When he turned his head, he could see a creature dressed in black bounding from house to house. He couldn’t see its face, but he had a strong suspicion he didn’t want to. The few glimpses of skin he got were either black as the night sky or pale white; it reminded him of how one might dress for Halloween. But its other worldly body movements indicated it was definitely not human.

“Guys?”

North and Befana couldn’t hear him over the sound of their fighting, which had slowly grown louder the more they fought, and the distance Jack had put between them. The creature stopped at an all too familiar house. It crept in through the window to invade the Bennett home. North and Befana were far from his mind as he raced to the window. His only priority was protecting the Bennett children. He would never admit it, but part of him wished Bunny was there. The Guardian of Hope understood his protectiveness of Jaime and, in return, he understood Bunny’s protectiveness of Sophie. The alliance they would forge over this would be deeper than it could be with any other guardian.

Jack was by Sophie’s window in an instant and looked inside to see the strange dark figure towering over the slumbering Sophie. His beady eyes were focused on the child. His giant grin showed off blackened, rotting teeth. Sophie remained asleep as it called out in a hoarse voice, “Babadook… dook… dook.”

It was him. This was the creature they’d been searching for. Jack had suspected it, but this was confirmation. This was the monster. He didn’t even notice Jack. The guardian seized the opportunity to take him by surprise. Using his staff, he sent out a cold spark to the Babadook’s outstretched hand that was only inches from Sophie’s face.

The Babadook recoiled and whirled about to face him. His eyes widened at the sight of Jack. He disappeared into the shadows before the guardian could make another move. Jack made his way inside of the room in hopes of catching him. Once inside the room, he noticed that he had completely disappeared into the shadows. North and Befana must have noticed his absence. When he turned back to the window, he saw the worried face of North.

Jack glanced to Sophie. The child was still asleep in spite of all that had happened. Relieved, he turned back to North who was waiting for an explanation. 

“What are you doing in here?”

“I followed it.”

North moved out of Jack’s way so he could climb back out of the window, but the three lingered just outside.

“The Babadook?” Befana asked.

Jack nodded. “It’s after Sophie.”

“Who is Sophie?” Befana peeked inside.

“We’ll explain that later,” Jack said. “Right now, I gotta go get the others. You two keep an eye on her until I get back.”

North nodded. “We will keep her safe,” he promised. Jack knew that North would do everything in his power to stay true to that. With a nod, Jack took off from the roof in the direction Bunny and the others had gone.

They were going to need everyone for this. This was a monster feeding on hatred and fear, much like Pitch had. They already knew that this thing was determined to drive Sophie to her death if possible. Even if he didn’t fear it would take all of them, he knew Bunny would want to be there; he’d never forgive Jack for not coming to get him for this. It was something they both understood clearly. Every so often the guardians would grow attached to a child and Sophie had been one of those children for Bunny.

Jack made his way to find Tooth and Sandy first. After that, it was off to Punxsutawney to retrieve Bunny and the others. With Bunny there, it’d be much easier to figure out how Sophie had become a target.

* * *

Bunny could feel his muscles getting sore. They’d been searching for hours without a break. Phil had been the one to request they stop to take a breather and Bunny didn’t argue with him. Bunny wasn’t all that surprised when Min started to pass out snacks. Her bag was always filled with some kind of treat she would often share whenever she thought the others had gone too long without food. It was her mothering instinct. Bunny didn’t have the words to describe how unfair it had been that Min never had the chance to raise her child. She would have been the perfect mother.

With Min around, Bunny had learned that the folk stories about the moon rabbit making rice cakes didn’t come out of nowhere. Bunny would never ask why she had packed them, but she had handed out them out as soon as they sat down. He was doing his best to tune out Phil who was carrying on at great length about something or another. Min was politely listening to every word which earned an eye roll from Bunny. She needed to stop encouraging him.

The chubby little groundhog popped the last of his pink rice cake into his mouth before quickly standing up. One thing Bunny was grateful for was that Phil was quick on his feet. The last thing he needed was to have to carry the groundhog’s weight for him. He was still talking as he was investigating the nearby windows for clues or hints to the Babadook’s whereabouts. Although he had been the one to suggest resting, he didn’t take long to get back to work. Bunny could respect that, but he did wish that Phil would at least give his mouth a rest.

“I still don’t understand his motives,” Min admitted. “How could someone torture other people like this?”

“He’s the kind of bloke that likes to take advantage of people weaker than himself,” Bunny said. He glance over at the moon rabbit. “Things like this are usually about power.”

“I suppose.”

Bunny gave a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. He’ll get what’s comin’ to him.”

“The Bunmaster is right,” Phil said, completely oblivious to the annoyance on Bunny’s face at the name. “You gotta remember Bunny helped take down Pitch. This guy will probably be a piece of cake compared to that guy.”

“I just hope we can reach the child in time,” Min said. 

“We will,” Bunny said.

“Guys!” Phil cried out. “Look at this!”

Phil pointed toward something inside one of the rooms he’d been peering into. Min was the first to make her way over, looking over at Bunny who hadn’t moved yet. “Coming, Bunmaster?”

“Now don’t you start.”

Min chuckled before peeking into the room; they could see that it was the room of a young boy. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about it. There were toys strewn about and the clean blue walls were covered with the child’s artwork. There was a messy desk that had an array of items and school work sitting on top of it. Bunny briefly wondered how he got anything done with the mess of papers and figures sitting on it.

“What are we looking at here, Phil?” He asked.

“Look in the trash bin,” he said. He was already opening the window as he said it. He climbed inside to make his way over to the boy sleeping in his bed. Bunny looked to the trash to see a discarded image there. He couldn’t see the picture very well, but he could make out one word very clearly. _Babadook_. Phil was already gently nudging the child awake. This was the first lead they had come across. Habit made Bunny uneasy about waking the child, but Phil seemed to have no qualms with being seen by human eyes.

“What…?” The boy slowly opened his eyes at the nudging. He reached over to his nightstand to put his glasses on. “Mom?” It took a moment before the boy’s eyes began to properly focus. “…Phil?”

Phil was a household name in Punxsutawney; children and adults alike knew him. While his presence was confusing, it was, fortunately, not frightening for the child. He sat up in his bed with a lost expression on his face. 

“Hey, buddy,” Phil smiled. “What’s your name?”

The boy still seemed alarmed. He must have noticed Bunny by the window because he turned his attention to him. He knew who he was instantly. “The Easter Bunny…?”

“Isn’t that a funny coincidence?” Phil asked. “That’s his name, too!”

Phil started to laugh at his own joke while Bunny rolled his eyes. 

“Huh?” The boy was snapped out of his shock. “Oh… Uh, I’m Jeremy.”

“Well, Jeremy, I have something to talk to you about,” Phil said. Bunny had to give the stupid groundhog one thing; he was a very disarming person. He kept up a cheerful and friendly tone when speaking with everyone.

“Right now?”

“I know, it’s late,” Phil said. “But it’s really important, bud.”

“Okay….”

“Jer, do you know about the Babadook?”

The little boy paled. “Yeah. But he’s gone now.”

“Gone?”

Phil came a bit closer to the boy who was hugging his knees to his chest. His demeanor had changed after the mere mention of the Babadook’s name. Min watched from a distance. Unlike Bunny and Phil, the child wouldn’t be able to see her. She was used to children outside of East Asia not being able to see her. It did make her feel a bit useless.

“I made him go away.”

“Can you elaborate on that for us,” Phil said.

The little boy shook his head, obviously petrified.

“Jeremy.” Bunny’s voice was soft as he moved closer. “There’s another child who is in a lot of trouble. Whatever you tell us might be able to help them. Please, tell us what happened?”

Jeremy hesitated. The prospect of the Babadook harming someone else seemed to have sparked him into talking. “I told my parents.”

“About the Babadook?” Phil asked.

Jeremy nodded. “They didn’t believe me… but they did believe me when I told them I always felt really sad.”

“And what did they do?” Phil asked.

“They took me to see a doctor,” Jeremy said. “And he listened to me and then he promised he’d try and help me feel better. He even listened when I talked about the Babadook.”

Bunny listened as the little boy continued to explain his story. It was easy to piece together what had happened from his tale. While the boy never used the word psychologist, it was clear that was who his parents had taken him to. The more the boy spoke, the more it sounded as if he’d had self-destructive tendencies that his parents had been concerned about. The Babadook had only exacerbated a pre-existing situation. The boy’s parents had done what they could to take the right steps. Bunny carefully began to exam the bedroom as Phil prodded him for more of his story. He noticed a small medicine bottle on the edge of the nightstand. He picked it up in his hands to examine it carefully.

“After he started helping me, I didn’t see the Babadook again,” the boy said.

“So when you started to feel better, he went away?” Phil asked.

“I guess?” Jeremy shrugged. “It was when everything didn’t feel so….”

“Overwhelming?” Bunny offered. The child was struggling to come up with a word on his own.

“Yeah.” The boy paused. “Does that help?”

“Immensely,” Phil said. “I’m sorry we can’t stay to chat longer, but we’ve got someone who needs us.”

Phil was the one that put the child back to bed. Bunny wasn’t all that confident that the child would be going back to sleep any time soon after the memories they’d conjured. He wasn’t so sure they should leave the child alone for that reason. They still weren’t completely sure how this Babadook fellow operated or where he even came from. 

The three made their way back out onto the roof and shut the window behind them. Bunny glanced once more into the room to see the boy curling back up under the covers, but his eyes were wide open. He wished that Sandy had been there to help the child get back to bed. 

“Bunny!” It was Tooth. The hummingbird woman made her way over to her friend quickly unaware of her perfect timing. “They found the Babadook!”

Bunny’s ears twitched forward to give her his full attention. “Yeah?”

“He’s in Burgess.” She hesitated. “He…”

Bunny gave her a moment to finish her sentence. When she didn’t, anxiety started to creep in. “He what?”

“He’s after Sophie.”

Bunny’s heart stopped. Without a word, he brushed past Tooth to make his way to Burgess. It was as if someone had told him his own daughter was at risk. It had been years since he’d spent time with the girl, but she’d always remained in his heart. Every Easter afforded him a chance to see her and it was like being able to see a long lost child. Although he wanted to protect all of the children, this one felt far closer to home than any of the others.  Tooth didn’t stay for goodbyes either; her mind was on other things.

Min turned her attention to Phil. “Phil. Please, stay here with Jeremy. Make sure he stays safe.”

“I will,” Phil said. He watched as Min followed after Bunny. He hoped they would make it to the girl in time and that they could put an end to all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be the last chapter! Hopefully I’ll get it completed soon. This was going to be longer and more involved, but I made major changes to the story. It might feel a bit disjointed because of that which I apologize for. It sort of strayed from the original vision I had for it.
> 
> I keep screwing up the spelling of Nevaeh's name for some reason, too.


	4. Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to finish! Life has been very busy for me. I also want to apologize that I didn't organize this fic very well. If it feels like elements were superfluous, it was because I had a different plot going on and changed course mid-way through.
> 
> It wasn't a great idea, but hopefully you guys can learn from my mistakes. Jamie and my OFCs were originally going to play a much bigger role and I changed my mind after it was too late LOL. So now my OFCs just sort of feel like they're taking up room which they are. They did originally have a more meaningful purpose though! I'm sorry everybody. I hope you enjoy the outcome in spite of my flip flopping!
> 
> But my lesson for everyone is make an outline before you start writing. I didn't make an outline for this and I think that really hurt me in the end. I got too eager to write without doing proper planning. I didn't want to completely abandon it despite how unhappy I was with it. But hopefully you guys will learn from my mistakes.

Sophie stretched and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. When she looked to the window, expecting to see the sun, she saw it was still dark out. Frowning, she glanced at her alarm clock. It was only 2AM. She sighed. She began to turn onto her other side to try to go back to sleep. With only the light from the hallway to illuminate her room, Sophie caught sight of a silhouette of a man standing beside her bed. Looking down at her was an aging face; it was far too human to be the Babadook, yet still an unexpected presence. She jumped back letting out a panicked gasp.

"Sorry! Sorry!" North held up his hands in mock surrender. He reached down to turn on her bedside lamp. "It is only me! I did not mean to startle you!"

As Sophie processed who she was looking at, she was grateful that a scream hadn't been her first reaction. "Santa Claus?"

"Please, I prefer North."

Sophie sat up on her knees, reaching out to hug him. Her panic had turned to relief. "It's so good to see you," she said, earnestly. "I thought you'd forgotten me."

"Never, dushka," North said. "I am sorry we were a little late getting to you."

"Where's Bunny?"

"He'll be here soon," North promised. North turned his head to face the corner of Sophie's room. He looked as if he were reacting to a noise. Sophie put her guard up, holding onto North for dear life and staring at the allegedly empty corner of the room.

"Do not be afraid." North had noticed her fear. "That is a friend of mine. I forgot to introduce you to Befana. She is the knock-off Santa Claus of Italy."

"Excuse me?" Befana appeared before Sophie's eyes. Now that she knew who the woman was to believe in her, she could see the woman as clear as day.

"Hello," Sophie said, softly.

Befana turned her attention from North to Sophie. She gave a warm and welcoming smile. "Good evening."

Sophie looked back to North. "You're here because of the Babadook, right?

"We are," North confirmed. "We are here to protect you, Sophochka."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," Sophie said. "I've been dealing with this all by myself and I didn't know who to turn to."

"You have us now," North promised. "Jack will be back with everyone soon. I promise. We brought some back up."

"Like Befana?"

"She was more of a tag-along-Ow!" He felt Befana lightly smack the back of his head.

"I'm here to help as well, yes," Befana added.

Sophie reached out to take North's hand in hers. "Thanks, you guys."

* * *

Before going after the others, Jack found his way to Jamie's room. Jack was a bit surprised when Jamie didn't return home until 2 o'clock in the morning. He had let himself in with a key and entered his bedroom without much incident. Jack had to wonder if this was his typical routine these days. He wasn't drunk which was a relief to Jack. He watched as Jamie flopped down onto the bed, his face planted into the pillow. The room was no longer the room of a little boy, but a teenager preparing for his future. Next to his bookcase was a case just for his trophies from track and field. There were sports memorabilia on the walls from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Bulls. The desk was covered with homework and college brochures. Some of his old homemade toys lingered, but they sat on the shelf more as a remembrance. He had clearly grown out of playing with such things.

Jack slowly made his way inside, trying not to scare Jamie too badly. "Jamie?"

His plan didn't work out too well; Jamie nearly screamed in surprise at the sound of his name. Jack quickly rushed over to cover Jamie's mouth with his hand. "Shh!"

Jamie flailed about as he tried to escape Jack's grasp. He calmed when he saw who his "assailant" was. He then furrowed his brow in confusion. Jack slowly pulled his hand away.

"Jack? What are you doing here?"

"That's not the warm welcome I was expecting," Jack teased.

"What is going on, Jack?" Jamie demanded. Jack was taken aback by his harsh tone. He had expected Jamie to be a little agitated and surprised, but his voice was venomous. For a brief moment, Jack wondered if the sound of someone's voice had the ability to kill.

"What's with all the hostility?"

"You disappeared."

Jack sighed. He should have seen this coming. "Look, Jamie, I'm sorry but-"

"But you were busy being Jack Frost," Jamie finished for him. "So busy that you couldn't even come say hello to an old friend."

"Jamie, listen."

"What's so important that you came crawling out of the woodwork?" Jamie asked. "You need my help again so you can ditch me right after?"

"It's about Sophie."

Jamie stiffened at that. Every ounce of the hostility within him melted away. "What about Sophie?"

Jack sighed. This was going to be a long explanation. While he explained the recent events, he could see Jamie was transfixed by his story. Jamie remained completely silent as Jack explained what he knew of the Babadook. It wasn't much, but it was enough to know he was a dangerous creature.

"Do you think Pitch has something to do with this?" Jamie asked. He started to get up to head for Sophie's room.

"No, he'd make sure to get his stink all over this if it was."

"You said you left her with North?"

"North and Befana."

Jamie gave him a quizzical look.

"Italian Santa Claus as a girl," Jack summed up.

Jamie didn't question it. "We should get back to her."

"You go ahead," Jack said. "I have to get everyone else. I wanted to get you up first."

Jamie thought about this a moment and nodded. "Thank you," he said. "And… sorry I was acting like a jerk."

"No, I'm sorry," Jack said. "We– _I_ could have made a little more of an effort to see you. I didn't."

"We'll make it up to each other later," Jamie said. "We have to focus on Sophie right now."

Jamie got up to hurry to Sophie's room. It wasn't the reunion Jack had anticipated, but they would mend things more thoroughly later. Right now Jack had to find the others. He hoped that they could stop whatever this thing was. They had no history with it, not like Pitch. They didn't even know where to start in confronting it. But they had each other and that would have to be enough.

* * *

Bunny stood outside Sophie's window. He was more nervous than he'd ever been in his entire life. He'd been gone for so long that he had no idea how she would react to his sudden presence. Would she welcome him with open arms or turn him away? Min-young was keeping her distance, letting Bunny handle this on his own. He had needed the space to be alone with his thoughts.

North and Befana still sat beside her along with Jamie. Jack must have alerted him to what was happening, Bunny realized. He seemed happy to see them and he sat on the bed with his sister, wrapping an arm around her. Pushing passed his anxiety, he gently opened the window. The conversation the group had been having grinded to a halt when they heard the window open. North and Befana were on their guard until the saw Bunny. They immediately relaxed, North releasing the handle of his sword.

"There you are!" North said. "It is about time. We have been waiting."

"Bunny!" The voice was older than before, but Bunny recognized it as Sophie's instantly. She rushed forward to wrap her arms around his neck. He was nearly knocked off balance in surprise.

Bunny gave a hearty laugh. This was a much kinder welcome than he'd expected from the girl. He had been convinced she would be furious with him. "Would you look at you," he exclaimed. He hugged her tightly, twirling her around a little before setting her down on the ground. "I can't call you my little ankle biter anymore, can I? You've gotten much too big."

"I was so scared you wouldn't come." Her voice cracked ever so slightly. The sound shot straight to Bunny's heart.

"Now how could I stay away?" Bunny asked. "You know I'll always be here when you need me most."

Sophie smiled. She should have known he would have come through for her. He was a little late, but it was better than never. Jamie cut in at that. He placed a hand on Bunny's shoulder. Bunny was surprised to see how big Jamie had gotten. He was tall enough that he easily reached out to touch the pooka's shoulder.

"Thanks, Bunny," he said. "We appreciate you being here."

Bunny nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said. He turned to the window. "Min-young, come on in." He turned to Sophie and Jamie. "Moon rabbit. More of an Asian legend."

"So I guess we could say she's big in Japan?" Jamie joked.

"Did you become a comedian while I was away?" Bunny laughed.

Min-young made her way into the room, stepping lightly. She moved swiftly yet gracefully; she looked far more delicate than Bunny. The moon rabbit smiled when she noticed that the children could see her. It was rare to be recognized on this side of the world.

"Hello," she greeted.

"She's an old friend of mine," Bunny explained. "And she's here to help. All of us are."

"I'm going to need it," Sophie said. "Thank you."

Before another word could be uttered, the window shutters flew open with great force; they slammed against the side of the house making a horrific cracking sound. Bunny quickly stood in front of Sophie with his eyes fixed on the window. In the distance, they could see a dark figure standing on the rooftops. It was the silhouette of a large man in a top hat. It was an ominous sight. 

"That's him," Sophie whispered. Jamie reached down to take her hand in his.

"Stay here, sweetheart," Bunny said. "We'll take care of this."

Sophie didn't argue. She had no qualms with letting the "professionals" as it were deal with the problem. She didn't expect to see her brother follow the group out the window. She grabbed onto his arm before he could leave.

"Jamie?"

"You didn't think I'd sit this one out, did you?" He hugged her briefly. "We'll stop him."

She knew there was nothing she could say to stop her brother. When he put his mind to something, he would see it through to the end. "Be careful."

She sounded so helpless to even her own ears. He gave her a reassuring smile before he disappeared out the window. Jamie realized he was at a severe disadvantage, but he couldn't just stand back and let this thing get away. Almost seconds after stepping out onto the roof, he felt a hand grab onto his arm. It had a much stronger grip than Sophie's.

"Why don't you head back inside?" Jack said. He was still holding onto Jamie's arm. 

"You're back already?"

Jack nodded. "And the gang's all here," he said, motioning to Tooth and Sandy. When the group had arrived, they must have seen the Babadook and went straight for him. Jamie and the others hadn't even known they were back.

"Go back inside," Jack repeated. "We'll handle this."

"Would you sit back and do nothing if it was your sister that thing was after?"

Jack was silent for a moment. Jamie couldn't get a good read on what was going through his head, but there was a flash of pain in his eyes. Jack nodded. "Hop on," he said. He turned so that Jamie could grab onto his back. It wasn't the ideal method of travel, but it was the only way he was going to get over to the Babadook. He clung tightly to Jack as they hurried to join the others.

Bunny was leading the charge with North not too far behind. "Alright, ratbag," Bunny said. "Let's see how you fair against someone your own size."

The Babadook didn't move from where he stood on the neighbor's roof. He was making this too easy, Bunny thought. He was a sitting duck. Bunny pulled his boomerang forth to throw it in the Babadook's direction. The Babadook still didn't move; instead, he reached out to grab the boomerang with one swift movement of his hand. Bunny watched as his boomerang was slowly absorbed into the Babadook's body.

Bunny stared at the Babadook. He was trying to process what had happened. He wasn't sure what his next move would be. North rushed past him with his swords drawn. North moved with expert precision, but Bunny watched as the Babadook dodged every move with little effort. In the blink of an eye, the Babadook was able to grab onto one of North's arms. With the flick of his wrist, North was flung face first into the rooftop.

"North!" Bunny turned his focus to North, making sure the man was alright. North started to get back to his feet.

Jack landed only a few feet away from the Babadook, letting Jamie climb down off his back. While the Babadook was still distracted, Jack took that as his chance to hit him before he could react. He leveled his staff at the cloaked figure and shot off a bolt of frozen energy. It struck him. Jack smirked, pretty pleased with himself. The Babadook was covered in a layer of ice. Bunny could feel relief coming over him. Although he would never hear the end of Jack's bragging, something was working.

His fears returned full force when the Babadook shook off the layer of ice. It was as if nothing happened. Shards of ice hit the rooftop below the Babadook's feet. He turned his head to give Jack an eerie smile. Angry, Jack blasted off another burst of ice magic at the Babadook. The Babadook was only briefly frozen; it's hideous face still grinning madly with his dark eyes wide. The ice only added to the terrifying appearance of the monster. Once again the ice fell from his body in a matter of seconds.

Jack stared down at his staff, speaking in a hushed tone. "It's not working."

"He's not even flinching," Bunny said. How were they going to stop this thing? It hadn't even reacted to anything any of them had done.

"Maybe we need to try something else?" Min-young suggested. "Attacking him isn't working."

Bunny glanced at her before turning his attention to North. Befana was tending to the man's bleeding nose as he tried to push her away. He wasn't interested in her fussing. "I can take care of it myself," he snapped. "Go after the Babadook."

Befana didn't need to be told twice. Leaving North with a handkerchief, she left his side to call forth strange little creatures that were incredibly foreign to everyone, except for North. They were made from soot, as far as Bunny could tell, and the marched forward in the Babadook's direction. They covered his body from head to foot, biting at him and trying to pull him to the ground. Following Befana's lead, Tooth sent her own mini-fairies out to assist her soot creatures. The fairies worked alongside the soot creatures in an effort to take the Babadook down. Befana and Tooth looked toward one another, exchanging pleased smiles.

"Finally, we get a chance to work together," Befana said, trying to keep it lighthearted.

Tooth was less jovial, but not unfriendly. "It'd be better if we could do this under different circumstances," she said. "They make a great team though."

Befana nodded. Both women returned their attention to the matter at hand. The Babadook began to shake underneath the layer of strange soot-like creatures. Suddenly, there was a gust of energy that came from the Babadook. He sent the little soot creatures and Tooth's fairies flying along with Befana and Tooth. Tooth was thrown several feet backwards into the air. Sandy quickly pursued her to ensure her safety.

North got to his feet to grab the Italian woman by her shoulders. He kept her from falling to the ground, but her soot creatures weren't fairing as well. They were scurrying away for their own safety. "They've never failed to take someone down before…," Befana said, dazed.

"Looks like you can no longer say that," North said.

When Tooth's safety was assured, she followed Sandy back to where the Babadook stood. The other guardians and their allies were still stationed on surrounding rooftops with only Jack and Jamie standing on the same roof as the Babadook. It was Sandy's turn. Turning his Dreamsand to whips, he lashed out to ensnare the Babadook in them. They wrapped around the creature to pull him closer. It seemed to be working before the Babadook easily fazed out of the whips wrapped around his body. It was like watching water escape through a crack. He just oozed out of Sandy's grasp as if it were nothing to him. Sandy blinked, a question mark appearing above his head.

Jack turned to look to Bunny, as if hoping the pooka would have some kind of alternative to get them out of this mess. Jack jumped in surprise when someone ran past him. Gathering his thoughts, Jack could see Jamie rushing at the creature. "Jamie, stop! What are you doing?"

Jamie's sense had left him; they'd been replaced by an anger that couldn't be reasoned with, knowing this was the creature who was tormenting his baby sister. When the others failed, Jamie felt his anger continue to rise. It was impossible to hold back. Perhaps a human was needed to take him down.

Jamie attempted to body check the monster. But with a slight move to the left, Jamie went flying off the roof. He hadn't expected to be met with nothing but air. He braced himself for impact with the ground. Just seconds before he made contact with the ground, he felt a pair of arms grab him around the waist. He let out a pained grunt from his stomach slamming against the arms holding him, but it was far less painful than smashing his head against the ground. He turned his head to see Jack staring down at him angrily.

"What is wrong with you?" Jack demanded, lifting the boy higher into the air and away from the Babadook. Jamie had no answer for him. He could only avert his eyes, ashamed of his awkward failure. It had been pretty stupid upon reflection. Jack soften at that. "Just don't do that again," he added.

"Right, I won't," Jamie agreed.

This wasn't working. As Bunny racked his brain for an alternative solution, the bottles of medication on the boy's dresser flashed through his mind. Fluoxetine. That was it. "I don't think we're the ones who can stop this thing," he said, sounding distant.

Min-young turned to him with a questioning look.

"I think my little ankle biter has to stop this," he paused.

"Sophie? But how?" Min-young frowned.

"Hey! Stop!" Jack's booming voice caught Bunny's attention. He turned just in time to see the Babadook melting into a dark puddle. The Babadook gave a sinister wave as he disappeared from sight. He was gone without a trace.

Bunny's hear nearly stopped. He was going for Sophie.

"Come on, we have to go!" Bunny cried, running as fast as his legs would carry him to the Bennett house.

* * *

Sophie sat on her bed hugging her legs to her chest. She was shaking, praying that her friends would return with good news. She kept her eyes glued to the window. If anyone did return, including the Babadook, she would see them immediately.

She wanted to get up to go to the window, but her body refused to move. The others had told her to stay there and she was taking their instructions seriously, perhaps a little too seriously. She only broke her gaze when she heard a tapping sound. It wasn't coming from the window, but from somewhere else in the room. Sophie felt her stomach drop. The tapping was coming from her closet. It was like the sound of a fingernail hitting the wooden door.

The door began to slowly creep open. After a few seconds, a hand appeared from the other side of the door, clutching onto it.

"Babadook, dook, dook, dook," he rasped.

Sophie bolted. She ran to her door, flinging it open to run downstairs. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't have a plan. When she reached the first floor, she rushed toward the front door. Her plans of escape, whatever they may have been, were immediately crushed when she stepped foot into the living room. The room was impossibly dark; the walls and ceiling were black, as if covered in an oil-like substance. Sophie's heart leapt to her throat.

The black mass that had accumulated in the living room began to grow a face. Pale and ghostly, there were only two black voids to act as eyes. She didn't need to be told it was him. There was a familiarity to his presence. One she was coming far too acquainted with. She had to find the others. She turned to run back to her room. Maybe if she called out to them from her window, they'd come to her.

Her plan was short-lived when she ran face first into something, or someone, with a thick fur coat. Fear turned to joy when she recognized the scent of dirt and Easter lilies that always clung to Bunny's fur.

"Bunny!" She hugged him tightly. "He's in there!" She exclaimed. She was tugging on Bunny's arm to pull him toward the living room.

"Sophie, honey," Bunny said, softly.

"You have to stop him!"

"Sophie," Bunny said her name a little more loudly. This was harder than he thought it would be. She stopped tugging on his arm for a moment, looking up at him.

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

"Sweetheart… I can't," Bunny confessed.

"But you have to," Sophie said, tears filling her eyes. "You promised."

"Sophie, listen." Bunny knelt down in front of her. "I can't stop him. None of us can. You have to be the one to do it."

"Me? I can't do anything!"

"It has to be you," he said. "He's after you because you're hurting, sweetheart. That's how he chooses his victims. It's up to you."

It was as if the whole world was caving in. Sophie couldn't do this. How could she ever be expected to take down a monster like that? "I don't know how."

"You just gotta be stronger than he is," Jamie said. He was descending the stairs with the others close behind. "Which you already are. You are one of the bravest people I know, Soph."

"He's feeding on your pain," Bunny explained. The conversation with the boy from before had made it all click in his head. The little boy had found his own way to keep the monster at bay. "He's using your sadness to get to you."

"I can't just make all my feelings just go away!" Sophie exclaimed.

"It's not about making them go away," Bunny said, gently. "It's about how you're going to live with them."

"He's living off your fears," Jamie explained. "Your insecurities. All of it. You have to cut him off from it."

"We will be right here by your side, Sophochka," North added. "You will not be alone."

Sophie turned to look toward the living room. She could still see the black covering the walls. He was still there. It was as if he knew she was going to come back. When she looked back over her shoulder to her friends, she could see they were staying close. Bunny and Jamie stood only a few inches behind her.

"It's okay," Jamie said. "We're right here."

Taking a deep breath, Sophie continued forward. She stopped when she reached the sofa, leaning against it slightly. She looked up at the menacing creature. His sunken eyes still on her from the ceiling. The darkness began to take its usual shape; that of an unusually tall man with pale skin and wild black hair. His mouth turning into an inhumanly wide grin.

"Leave me alone." Sophie cringed at how weak her voice sounded. Her fear only encouraged the Babadook to come another step forward. Sophie took a step back. The action caused her to press back against Bunny who was still behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders as a supportive gesture.

As the Babadook continued to advance, her brain struggled to think of what to do. She didn't know how to stop this. She wasn't even sure cutting him off from her feelings was even possible. Sophie was shaking again and the Babadook was coming closer. She could feel Bunny beginning to pull her back when he realized that Sophie was frozen.

All at once, it came to her. All the abuse and doubt she had been struggling with. It was fueling this. Every time they made her feel insecure. Every time they made her hate herself, the Babadook was getting his fix. Sophie knew what she needed to do.

"They're wrong!" Sophie shouted. The words would mean nothing to those standing around her. It would only make sense to her and the Babadook; the only two in the room that knew how extensive the bullying had been. "Everything they've ever said about me is wrong. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not diseased, I'm not ugly. They're wrong."

The Babadook seemed to be slinking into the shadows. Plucking up a bit more courage, Sophie moved forward.

"Everything they've ever said isn't true and has never been true." She watched as the Babadook continued to shrink into the shadows. "They only said it to hurt me. But just because it hurts, doesn't mean it's true. All of it was a lie and I don't have to believe any of it. I am loved."

Her voice began to crack, but it was no longer out of fear. "I'm not alone," she reminded herself and the Babadook. He placed her hand over one of Bunny's as a reminder to herself. She was loved. Everyone standing behind her loved her; they were her proof.

The Babadook had one last hurrah and she knew it was the last. He leapt forward to give an angry scream in Sophie's face. He shed the appearance she had grown accustomed to. His new form was twisted and inhuman. She wanted to turn away but she refused to let herself. She had to face this. He had shed his skin to show his true self; the very face of pain and self-hate. It was more disgusting than Sophie could have ever imagined. It wasn't human. It was just a horrific monstrosity yelling in her face. She could feel Bunny hug her tightly as it wailed, its rancid breath hitting her. It took all her strength to keep the contents of her stomach down.

Still wailing, the Babadook disappeared into the darkness. In a matter of seconds, it was gone. The darkness in the room lifted and the air felt lighter. There was still an oppressive force around her, but it wasn't as overwhelming as it had been before. Bunny lifted her in his arms for a hug. "You did it!" The hug only ended when Jamie came to wrap his arms around his sister.

"Great job, munchkin," he said. "He's gone!"

Sophie smiled, but it wasn't over. She turned to the shadows once more, knowing he was still there.

Befana sense the girl's unease. "I don't think he'll ever be gone," Befana said. "I think you've kept him at bay."

"Then how do I defeat him for good?"

"You don't," Befana said. "You keep fighting."

Nodding, Sophie accepted Befana's words. It wasn't the outcome she had hoped for, but she knew it was the best she could do. Rather than dwell on the sadness that still permeated the room, she moved from Bunny to hug Jamie.

"I'll be okay," she said, more for herself than anyone else.

* * *

Sophie didn't want to return to school. She had to force herself to go, reminding herself that it wouldn't be forever. One day she would graduate and then move on. Her brother was already talking about moving away and never seeing most of the kids he knew in high school; there was only a handful of people he would bother knowing after her graduated. Her brother was acting as a light at the end of the tunnel, even if he didn't know it. Armed with what she knew, she trudged her way to school with a bit more confidence. When she arrived, she was almost immediately called to the counselor's office. Her confidence was overthrown by worry.

"What's going on?" Sophie was unable to decipher why she was there. She hadn't requested a meeting and she hadn't been into any trouble. She feared that perhaps her freak out from before was coming back to haunt her.

"Sophie, you remember when I promised I would do something to help you?" Ms. Doran asked.

"…Yes?"

Ms. Doran motioned to the chair in front of her desk to encourage her to sit. Sophie feared this was the conversation she dreaded. This is where Ms. Doran would admit she was defeated by the system. Or that she'd spoken with everyone and had chickened out on ratting out the terrible twosome. It could have been worse than that; perhaps she had decided Sophie was the one at fault.

"This isn't going to be easy," she said. "But I'm pushing for expulsion."

"What?"

"I know it's an extreme measure," Ms. Doran said. "But after reviewing all of the evidence against Alyssa and Neveah, I feel they are disruptive to the learning environment we've tried to set up and a threat to the safety of our students. I've managed to get Mr. Fisher to see it my way and he's agreed to start the process of expelling them."

Sophie didn't get her hopes up. This felt too good to be true. "They're getting expelled?"

"Well, that's the end goal," Ms. Doran said. "I won't swear to you that it'll go how we want, but I'm really confident, Sophie. Beth showed me the online attacks against you and it's been a very compelling piece of evidence for Mr. Fisher. All I need is for you to speak up and present your side of the story. Beth and some of the other students agreed to put their statements on record, but they would only do it if I can get all of you to agree to it. You guys have to be a team in this."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Sophie's tears were ones of joy. It wasn't the dream ending to her problem. Still something was happening. Someone was doing _something_. Ms. Doran had tried. Even if her efforts failed, she tried. That meant more to her than even Sophie realized it would.

Sophie shot up from her seat to wrap her arms around Ms. Doran. "Thank you."

Today was the start of a new life for Sophie, even if the only thing that changed was herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dushka is Russian for "sweetie".
> 
> Sophochka is a diminutive of Sophia/Sophie.


End file.
